Easy Faux Cross Stitch Valentine’s Day Art

Make this simple and pretty Valentine's Day art using a wood pallet and Duck Tape! So easy, even a kid can do it. Use this cross stitch idea for a variety of designs.

I was browsing Pinterest recently for some inspiration for Valentine's Day art when I came upon a cross stitch pattern I thought was cute.

I actually did a cross stitch quote on canvas at one point, and still love that project. However, cross stitch can take a long time! I wondered if there was an easier way to do Valentine's Day art with cross stitch and then it hit me – Duck Tape!!

Duck Tape is very easy to cut with a craft knife and that means you can fashion it into any shapes you like – including small strips.

You'll need a craft knife and mat with an 1″ and 1/4″ grid on it (my Fiskars self-healing mat is perfect). After trying this Valentine's Day decor, I'm ready to adapt it to different holidays and much larger projects.

You're probably wondering how to create the pattern for this Valentine's Day art and get it on the pallet – it's really easy! There a few options for how to DIY your own pattern.

I actually used the program Stitch Fiddle (free). However, you could use Excel to create your own pattern with “X's” . . . or simply draw out a grid on paper or on your project.

I will leave that up to you. For this Valentine's Day decor, I give you the pattern in the supply list below. Here's how to make it!

We got our pallet from Michaels in the wood section. What I love about this pallet is that it's already dark.

Typically I would put a dark color underneath on unfinished wood, then add a lighter color on top and distress. This is already a dark brown, so I don't need a second color for my distressing! Bonus.

Paint your FolkArt chalk finish on top and let dry. I just used one coat.

When your pallet is dry ,use sandpaper to distress on the edges and in certain areas. Sand randomly to reveal the dark wood surface below.

Print out your pattern (you can print it in black and white – the color is just for reference). Cut the pattern down and attach it to the front of the pallet with the transfer paper underneath.

NOW – you don't necessarily need the transfer paper, but it makes your Valentine's Day art way easier. Tape everything down with washi tape or stencil tape.

What you are doing to do is draw a small “X” in each box – do NOT go from edge to edge because the Duck Tape isn't going to go all the way to the edge . . . so if you draw edge to edge, you'll see the transfer paper line. You just want a small “X” to provide you guidance in laying down your Duck Tape.

Now – if you don't have transfer paper – just press your pencil down HARD so that you can see the lines from the tip of your writing device in the wood.

This is not my preferred method as I don't want grooves in the wood, but it does work if transfer paper is hard for you to find. You can get it at Michaels in the painting section or online.

You'll notice that when you are done with your X's, and you peel off the transfer paper and grid, you're going to have some little X's left behind on your pallet! This is exactly what you want.

Now you'll cut the Duck Tape. Place a line of tape down on the Fiskars mat. Duck Tape is nearly two inches wide so place it between two of the solid lines on the grid like you see above. Then you're going to line the ruler up with the dots and cut 1/4″ wide strips that are 1″ long.

You can see in the image above how we cut the Duck Tape. For this project, you'll need 92 strips of red Duck Tape and 24 strips of pink Duck Tape.

It really doesn't take long to cut the strips. And it's kind of fun and relaxing.

Place the strips down over the Xs on your Valentine's Day art.

Continue until the entire pallet is covered. Place the red strips and pink strips of Duck Tape according to the grid.

Once you're done, your Valentine's Day decor is ready to hang!

If you enjoyed this Valentine's Day art project, check out these other Valentine's Day crafts with Duck Tape: